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Post by pete1951 on Jan 25, 2021 17:39:32 GMT
Well it is Burns Night
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Jan 25, 2021 18:22:30 GMT
That's nae bad, Pete. Ha yersel a wee dram!
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Post by Michael Messer on Jan 25, 2021 22:50:51 GMT
Slightly off topic...
I have always loved Burns guitars!
Back in the early 80s I came very close to buying a Burns Steer. If I knew then what I know now, I would have bought it. There were only 40 or so made and I think the one I coveted was the one Billy Bragg ended up with. I haven’t seen Billy for years, but I must ask him one day if it is the same one.
Shine On Michael
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Post by obrienp on Jan 27, 2021 10:28:53 GMT
Nice job Pete! Sounds much better with your modifications. Best, Pat
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Post by chromatic on Jan 27, 2021 18:41:11 GMT
I had a Black Bison just like that around 15 years ago and it sounded odd so I rewired the pup selections and it was no better. Can confirm it weighed 40 tonnes....
Just found my copy of the Burns Book by Paul Day so if anyone needs his info, just ask
I have a photo of the Bison and a Burns TR2 I once had. That weighed 50 tonnes and also sounded odd
How to post pics in replies, please?
Cheers
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Post by pete1951 on Jan 27, 2021 20:02:13 GMT
I have had the Bison for some years and have only just found a schematic for it, from that I could see why the mid and bridge pickups sounded thin. I also have 3 TR2s, only one with the original pickups, more on them later. Pete
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Post by obrienp on Jan 28, 2021 10:45:37 GMT
Out of interest I just did an eBay and Google search on Burns. It seems Burns guitars and basses sell for quite a premium on fleaBay UK. Several thousand quid for a 60s model.
There is a new Burns London website with a single landing page saying that the new owners look forward to revealing the reimagined Burns range in 2021. It contains a link to the original Burns London website, which still seems to be accepting orders, at least for the Jim Burns History book. The guitar range links seem to lead back to the new 2021 landing page; so something is coming, perhaps, pandemic allowing. There is life in the old dog yet!
The old site contains specs for the models and it seems the Bison bass was not super-long scale after all: just the standard 34”. Funny, I am sure I read a review that said it was around 35”, or 36”. Maybe it just felt big. Precision basses always have that affect on me. Best, Pat
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Post by cantata on Nov 15, 2021 11:13:53 GMT
I have the same model Burns Bison, a white batwing headstock from 1963. I love the guitar, but I too find that many of the settings aren't very usable, especially the treble ones. Did you ever find a good solution for this, did it help to bypass those capacitors that block bass frequencies? Some time ago I was searching for a Burns wiring diagram, well in these days of not much to do and nowhere to go, I have found one and wondered if anyone out there has had, or has a Burns Bison? These have a rather complex switching system ( the pickups are low impedance so it also has 3small transformers) If you have had one, did you find the treble settings too treble? I love the tone of the neck pickup, but the other 2 each go through a capacitor that blocks bass frequencies. . As the tone pot is not original I intend to replace it with a push-pull one so you can get the original tone, or the new minus-cap tone. Pete Unusually the pickups have 6 individual coils, this also creates a problem for string benders as the string travels across the pickups signal strength varies, I think I have a solution for the problem, but more of that later!
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Post by pete1951 on Nov 15, 2021 16:52:30 GMT
Hi Cantata, yes , When the 2 capacitors are ‘bridged’ most of the treble settings became much fuller and not so thin . Pete
I had already put in a new tone pot, so I replaced it with a push-pull one . This let me have the new no-cap tones or the original. Pete
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Post by cantata on Nov 16, 2021 11:58:24 GMT
Hi Pete, thanks a lot for the reply, I'll have to try that out. I'd be curious if there are other mods to the wiring, to make the most out of the guitars sonic potential. I don't think I'll ever find a musical contest where the split sound settings make sense, so perhaps I'll try out different settings with different tone caps or something like that. I'd be very interested if you have come up with other usable mods! Would love to gig with the guitar, but it's just not versatile enough with the stock wiring.
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Post by pete1951 on Nov 16, 2021 13:41:07 GMT
When I first got the guitar I found most of the sounds unusable so I made a whole new pick guard with 2 P90s ( the centre is just an old Burns cover stuck with double sided tape). But I always felt the guitar was a bit ‘naked’ without all the switches. Unless you totally rewire the guitar ( which would be a shame for a 60year old instrument) you’ll never find it’s ‘full’ potential. Those 2 caps do remove loads of mid and bass from most settings. A simple bridging wire will give the full tone of the pickups in most positions . Pete
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Post by cantata on Nov 17, 2021 19:56:48 GMT
Hi Pete, that's inspiring to see, thanks for the picture! I like the idea of making a duplicate pickguard with different pickups, as I'm not keen to modify the original more than necessary, and only in a way that it can easily be brought back to stock. Do standard P-90's fit under the Burns covers, or did you have special ones made?
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Post by pete1951 on Nov 17, 2021 21:32:41 GMT
A P90 will fit ( you might have to trim a little off the plastic bobbins) in a Burns cover. I had several spares so didn’t have to mess about with the originals. Pete I have been a professional guitar repairer for 50 years and a Burns fan for most of that time so I had a few spares. I even went to see Jim Burns when he opened a workshop in Littleport , he still owes me money for some ebony I gave him!
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Post by cantata on Nov 18, 2021 18:02:00 GMT
That's great, I might have to try the P90 idea out, I'd be curious how the guitar sounds in that configuration! I'll make sure that I don't alter any part of the guitars originals if I do. Parts for these are so scarce now! Mine is missing the trem cover, don't think I'll ever come across one of those...Must have been great to have experienced the evolution of the electric guitar over the last 50 years, and what a great Jim Burns story! Seems like he was quite the character...
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Post by pete1951 on Nov 21, 2021 18:44:05 GMT
Mine is missing the trem cover, .. Mine too, in fact several bits of the bridge were missing, but for something almost 60years old, it’s in pretty good shape. Pete
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